Become a Controller – AVweb

Some time ago, I wrote an article comparing differences between ATC and pilot training. Here, I will focus solely on what it takes to become an air traffic controller. In the U.S.A, there are about 14,000 Air Traffic Controllers, with 3000-plus expected to be added in the next few years. But let’s start by talking about the number of controllers over the years. 

In 1929, there was one; Archie League (who was a pilot and mechanic before he waved flags) at Charles Lindbergh’s home field in St. Louis. Within one year, Cleveland had the very first radio control room with a handful of controllers. By 1936, Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) were up in Newark, Cleveland, and Chicago, operating with maps and blackboards. Yes, you read that right, maps and blackboards.

Fast forward to 1981 when there were around 13,000 ATCs working for what they considered low pay, high stress, and way too much overtime, so they went on strike for better conditions. I won’t go into too much detail, but if you’ve never heard of or read about it, 13,000 controllers went on strike on August 3, 1981. President Reagan gave them 48 hours to return, or they would be fired. Only around 1300 ATCs returned to work within the allowed time. The 1980s average of needed controllers was slightly higher than 13,000, and it just went to 1300. It was the biggest setback in NAS in history. 

The FAA said they would return to that number within a couple years, however it took about 10 years to return to the early 80s number. Since the 90s, ATC numbers have increased about 50 per year. This includes controllers leaving for any given reason. Even with the hopeful three-percent increase of controllers in the next 10 years, it seems unlikely the staffing will be where it needs to be to keep up with increasing traffic. 

Also note that even though the FAA hired more than 1800 controllers in 2024, at least half won’t make it. If every trainee controller who walked through the doors got certified, there would be more than enough controllers to meet the rising demand. With around 45,000 flights/day in the U.S., and 14,000 Controllers, that’s about 3.2 planes per controller. Of course, that’s a deceptive calculation, not taking into account limited work hours, time off, etc.

Okay, to the point. What does it really take to become a controller? It most certainly isn’t 15 hours until you solo, but more along the lines of “Zero to ATP” in two to four years. There are two main routes (pun intended) to applying. 

You either have experience or you have none and that determines some of your requirements for getting in the door. For no experience, one would need to have secondary education and/or three years of work experience. With experience, 52 consecutive weeks of experience in an FAA, DOD or contract tower is required. OTS (off the street) hires take an Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) and score within a certain percentile. This test attempts to help the FAA see one’s potential to develop the needed skills and thinking. 

After some time, you are either “referred” or “not referred” for potentially gaining a job. Assuming you are “referred,” you proceed to the next step. For zero ATC experience, you must be a U.S. Citizen, under 30, pass a medical, security/fingerprints, and pre-employment test, speak English clearly, and be willing to relocate. The only difference if you have experience when applying is you must be age 35 or less. That’s not much difference, but remember that the experience includes at least 52 weeks as a controller in some capacity. (The majority of prior-experience hires are former military.) All applicants regardless of experience have to take a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory test (MMPI) as well.

Now, assuming you’ve passed all those steps, you will take one of two paths based on your prior experience (or lack thereof). OTS hires will begin in-processing and four weeks of online basics at home. After this, you are given a week off to prepare before heading to Oklahoma City where the FAA academy is. When you get your start date, you will be assigned Tower or En-route at random. 

Tower class is eight weeks of learning, tabletop exercises, and simulator practice, with testing at several points. It all comes down to one big test at the end, two “Tower” simulator runs and two “Ground” runs. 

En-route training is about 13 weeks with tests and runs as well. At the end, the highest score in the class gets to pick where they want to go, while the rest are given a list (remember the list for later) to pick from. Note also that at any given time, students of the academy may exit for many different reasons, including washing out due to academic failure, loss of interest, inability to handle situations/stress. After completing the academy and picking facilities, graduates are off to their new homes.

Now let’s talk about those with prior experience. After getting in the door and passing all the requirements, prior experience applicants may be referred and shorty after are offered a TOL (temporary offer letter) to join the FAA. If you accept, you are then offered a list (similar to the academy grads). My personal list had about 15 different facilities on it from Florida all the way to the northwest U.S. After picking a facility, you are offered an FOL (Formal Offer Letter) with a timeframe for starting dates, you then choose to accept or decline. If accepted, HR reaches out to you with firm start dates. I had to push my start date back a month for family reasons when I joined, and HR was cool with it. After that process, you’re off.

Little do most trainees know, there’s much more to ATC than just passing tests and training. Live OJT (On the Job Training) is one of the most difficult things to get through. What does it really take? Being raised ATC in the military, a lot of it is simply a mind game and staying humble, in my opinion. Most people can learn material and take a test on it. 

Actually performing is a different story. Because most of us are Type A personalities; we don’t like being told what to do. It’s one of the biggest problems I’ve seen, but it’s something you have to get over if you want to progress. If the trainer tells you to do something, just do it. It’s not a big deal, or least it shouldn’t be. I personally don’t yell at trainees in position anymore unless it helps them. Some thrive with that stress introduced; most do not. My training tactics have changed since I was in the military. I used to be the guy yelling and screaming and jumping around—I had a lot of energy back then—and now it’s calmer and more collected, however I do still jump around a little.

Another one of the major things I see now is the attitude and motivation of trainees coming in. Just like learning how to fly, trainees have all the same needs as student pilots. However, not many trainers in the FAA that train controllers are CFIs, so the correlation between both is overlooked. Being a CFI, I can assess a hazardous attitude from a mile away. I’m not perfect, but I have a different perspective compared to some co-workers’ ability to see these things in a trainee. 

I can see when people come in the door and hear their tone if they are in the mindset to learn for the day. If there is no indication of motivation and/or not a good attitude, it makes for a terrible day of training. I’ve actually had trainees display all five hazardous attitudes while working a position. Those were interesting days for sure. OJT isn’t a bad gig; you’re getting paid to train. 

After passing the tests for the position, you hopefully come in with a good attitude and open mind and … you sit and watch for a given number of hours of OJF (on the job familiarization). I’ve sat around four hours for Ground and eight-plus for Local. Then you start OJT. 

Due to the low quality of “ground school” some trainees get, I will generally ask a trainee 10 questions related to the position before they plug in. These are not trick questions. They are simple, designed to determine how well the trainee knows the facility. (e.g. How long is the runway? Where is this Hangar? What’s the ATIS frequency?) On occasion, I will ask something way beyond the expected knowledge level, just to see where they are, but it’s normally general ATC/Airport questions. If the trainee gets at least 9 out of 10 correct, they can plug in. If not, they can either research to find the answers, or go downstairs and not train. This is where I see the attitude part a lot, however if you don’t even know basic things about your airport, you will be performing a disservice to the pilots. So, is it more than you thought? This is just the tip. 

If you’re actually interested in joining ATC and you think you have what it takes, the resources to find information and decide the right path are plentiful. Just remember, ATC isn’t for everyone. Just because people believe it’s one of the most stressful jobs, only means they limit themselves before they plug in. It can also be incredibly rewarding. Maybe start with a tour of an ATC facility to get a better sense of it. 

Elim Hawkins has trained over 50 controllers with a 98-percent certification rate.